Strengthening Institutions & Governance in LAC
The OECD LAC Regional Programme (LACRP) provides LAC policy makers with tools to build more transparent and accessible governments. These tools aim to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of policies, and ultimately create trust between government and citizens. While significant governance challenges remain, the OECD offers the main public integrity actors of the region a platform to exchange ideas and experiences and find solutions to common challenges.
The OECD LACRP’s International Conference and Ministerial Meeting on “Integrity for Good Governance in LAC”, held during October 2018 in Peru, aimed to contribute to the momentum of the regional anti-corruption agenda and to build on the Lima Commitment, endorsed at the Summit of the Americas in April 2018. The meeting was opened by the President of Peru, Martín Vizcarra, as well as the Vice President of Colombia, Marta Lucia Ramirez, and attended by senior representatives from 16 LAC countries, 17 OECD countries and the EU, as well as 10 international/regional organisations.
Going forward, during 2019-2022 the Programme will pay special attention to delivering on this Action Plan, aiming to develop implementation-oriented projects that build on the OECD tools of policy dialogue, analysis and advice.
Key Publication
Integrity for Good Governance in LAC builds on the Lima Commitment, which was signed by 34 countries at the 2018 Summit of the Americas, and provides strategic guidance to policy makers to bring political commitments into concrete actions and deliver results.
Action Plan
Endorsed by the LACRP Steering Group in 2019, this plan consists of a comprehensive agenda that could help countries designing, advancing and implementating national integrity and anti-corruption strategies.
- See the full infographic
- Read more the full Action Plan
Relevant topics
Integrity, Anti-corruption and Open Government
In recent years, LAC countries have prioritised the fight against corruption and promoted a culture of public integrity for good governance. Through the OECD-Latin America Anti-Corruption Initiative and the OECD Action Plan on Integrity for Good Governance in LAC, the OECD supports the efforts of LAC countries to strengthen legislative, regulatory and institutional frameworks, improve public sector integrity, fight foreign bribery, strengthen international co-operation and engage with the private sector.
Specific LAC regional studies include:
Tax Revenue Collection and Expenditure Efficiency
The OECD helps to improve taxation and public expenditure policies in LACas a means to support economic growth and income redistribution in the region. By providing a space for policy dialogue through the LAC Fiscal Initiative, we offer policy makers the opportunity to exchange ideas and best practices with experts from relevant OECD committees and other regional and international organisations. Similarly, our tools such as Revenue Statistics in LAC and the Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems (MAPS) help LAC countries measure the efficiency of their public administration by giving them access to the same standard of data used by OECD countries.
Specific LAC regional studies in this area:
Public and Multi-level Governance
The OECD is supporting several countries in the region to improve their public governance systems. Through in-depth reviews and implementation programmes, the OECD works with national governments to assess the strengths, weaknesses and efficiency of a country’s public administration and governance practices, and helps governments to design their reform agendas. The OECD is also actively engaging with LAC countries to support multi-level governance and decentralisation reforms through in-depth studies, policy dialogue and the development of multi-level governance indicators.
Specific LAC regional studies:
OECD Public Governance Reviews (PGRs):
- Haiti (ongoing)
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Paraguay
- Peru
Corporate Governance
Effective corporate governance policies seek to ensure that corporations contribute to economic development and social progress, thus leading to inclusive growth and the reduction of inequality. Through its OECD Latin America Corporate Governance Networks, the OECD has promoted the implementation of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises. The Networks also share corporate governance best practices, such as the OECD’s new Guidelines on Anti-Corruption and Integrity in SOEs (the ACI Guidelines), which give concrete advice to LAC countries on how to manage more effectively their responsibilities as company owners and make state-owned enterprises more competitive, efficient and transparent.
Regulatory Policy
The OECD is working with many countries in the LAC region to evaluate the impact of current regulations, as well as prepare and implement simpler but more effective rules by promoting dialogue on regulatory policy among public policy experts from the region. For example, the OECD Regulatory Enforcement and Inspections Toolkit has served as a guide to improve the systems of inspections in Mexico and Peru.